Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver‘s son, Patrick Schwarzenegger, responded to accusations of nepotism after landing a leading role in season three of White Lotus.

“I know there are people who’ll say I only got this role because of who my dad is,” he told The Sunday Times in an interview. “They’re not seeing that I’ve had ten years of acting classes, put on [high] school plays every week, worked on my characters for hours on end, or the hundreds of rejected auditions I’ve been on.”

He continued, “Of course, it’s frustrating and you get boxed in and you think at the moment, ‘I wish I didn’t have my last name,’ but that’s a small moment. I would never trade my life with anyone. I’m very fortunate to have the life and family that I have, the parents I have, and the lessons and values they’ve instilled in me.”

Patrick, 31, claimed that he did not expect to be cast in White Lotus. “I thought, ‘There’s no way I’m going to get this, everybody is up for this,'” he recalled. “I’ve been a massive fan of the show since day one. It was my dream goal, I think I manifested it.”

Patrick previously said that his family urged him to try out for White Lotus because they were such fans of the show.

“My mom was always like, ‘Why haven’t you auditioned for this? Why didn’t you go out for this?’ And my sister’s like, ‘You need to call your agents right now. This is ridiculous that you’re not on the show, that you didn’t even audition.”

Patrick had his first on-screen acting role at ten years old in the 2006 film The Benchwarmers. He continued to act in films while he went to college and earned a business degree. He went on to act on TV, appearing in series such as Gen V, The Staircase and Scream Queens.

Season three of White Lotus premiered on Feb. 16 and aires on Max every Sunday at 9 p.m.

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Article by Baila Eve Zisman

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